I was contacted yesterday by the executive director of a nature center I used to frequent (and photograph) when I lived in the south suburbs. They are designing a website for the nature center and are interested in using some of my photos. They don’t have it in their budget to pay me for the use of the photos, but I would get credit on their site, which is ok with me. I’m sending them a bunch of my best shots later today and come September when their site launches, hopefully their designer will have chosen some of my work. I’ll follow up here with a link to their site at that time if it works out. I love it when people want to use my work; it’s very flattering.
Month: May 2006
Tuesday
Forgot to mention that on our way home from the zoo Monday we saw the military helicopters fly overhead reminding us that the President was in town. I wasn’t able to get my camera out quick enough, but there were three and they were cool. We were passing O’Hare airport on the expressway when it happened.
Anyway, yesterday we ventured over to the god forsaken mall. My mission was to buy one Grumpy Bear messenger bag from Hot Topic as seen at Diner Bitch’s site. It wasn’t meant to be; there were none. :'(
I ended up buying these fantastical brown dress pants from New York & Company on clearance; they were only $8! Talk about a steal. I paid $25 for the same pants (in black) just weeks ago.
That was my exciting Tuesday with a trip to Walmart thrown in. Oh and a lunch at Lonestar steakhouse. I love their dinner salads so I got the chicken breast with salad. I was really impressed with the seasoning they used on the chicken too. Most places the chicken is just flavorless, and frankly I was expecting the same but ordered it because I don’t want to completely blow up during vacation, but it was surprisingly yummy.
Oh and we saw the new neighbors who moved in next door. Or at least some of their family. We can’t decide since our old neighbors said they were a foreign couple with a 10-year-old, but we saw some foreign women (looked and sounded French according to Joe) running out back chasing after two toddlers. Not sure if they live there or were visiting. Joe said the man smokes. Lucky us. I swear, we always win the neighbor lottery. We’ve got smokers with a loud dog on one side and smokers (possibly with screaming toddlers) on the other. Yay us! I can’t wait to move in approximately 7 years because our next house won’t have neighbors within yelling distance. I don’t care what it takes, I’m not living next to people again.
Milwaukee day trip
This is how you know that you a) aren’t that fond of the general public and b) are a homebody at heart. We went to Milwaukee today and were back home by 2 pm. The funny thing is we only spent about two hours at the zoo.
Traffic sucked since we got caught in the morning rush hour going out there, but we were expecting that. We were a bit shocked at just how many people were at the zoo on a Monday morning though. Don’t these people have jobs/school? And the field trips, oh the field trips full of screaming children! I don’t remember going on field trips so late in the year. Joe brought up the fact that schools usually contact a zoo when a group is coming, so I wonder if they’d give out that info? If so, next time I am calling first to see how many groups they are expecting. Not that there will be a next time anytime soon. This was our third trip to Milwaukee Zoo and it seems to shrink every time we go there. I’m sure it’s only a matter of perception since we’re familiar with the layout. I really liked what they did to the Big Cats exhibit, however. Last time we were there it was being renovated so I was excited to see the results and it didn’t disappoint. You can get really close to all the big cats as well as the adorable red pandas. I just wish they used anti-reflective coating on the exhibit glass. I didn’t have any luck getting a good shot of the tiger outside even though he was mere feet away. :p
After the zoo we had lunch at Kopps. Their burgers were rated #1 this year in the City’s Best on AOL Citysearch. My cheeseburger was pretty good, but definitely not the best I’ve had, and their fries were just crap. Normally fries are like pizza, good even when they’re not, but these were sooo bad: soggy and flavorless. I was tempted to go across the street to the McDonald’s just to get some fries. Joe had a chocolate shake and that was nothing to write home about either. Despite that, I enjoyed trying something new. It’s always an adventure.
On the way home we stopped at the famous Mars’ Cheese Castle (seen on the Food Network) and bought some cheese curds and chocolate cheese. I haven’t tried either yet, so I’ll get back to you on those.
Poor plumbing service
Apparently this plumbing service can come out the same day, yet they can’t make a previously scheduled appointment. The worst part was we had a 1-4 time frame in which we sat home and I couldn’t do any laundry, since the water would have to be shut off, and 4 o’clock came and went without a peep. Joe called the place and got the answering service which was no help at all. The plumber ended up calling us after 5 pm to say he was on his way. Joe told him not to bother. We have the kids here and we couldn’t delay getting dinner ready any longer (we wanted him to look at relocating the gas pipe to the stove among other things). I don’t get why businesses feel they can treat people as if their time isn’t important. Had they at least called earlier in the day to let us know they’d be late, we would have been annoyed, but we could have rearranged our schedule. We definitely won’t be contacting them again. And now we have to locate another service and schedule another call. What a pita!
A Meme for Adults
A Meme for Adults
1. What’s in the glove box of your car?
Change, insurance card, a pair or two of gloves, pens, and a tire pressure guage. Also extra napkins. You can never have too many.
2. Favorite classes in college (or high school):
Music.
3. Shampoo brand:
Whatever new type I’ve decided to try that month. I still haven’t found one I like enough to stick with.
4. Favorite piece of furniture you own:
Our purple sectional. It is so large and comfy. Best purchase ever! Second to that is our dining room table.
5. Idea of a really good first date:
Dinner and talking, just like our real first date, although at the time we didn’t consider it a date.
6. Favorite fruit:
Tomato.
7. Pick a passage from a favorite book:
Please. I read a lot of books but I couldn’t think of one without looking through the few books I own.
8. What would you eat for dinner if it were your last night on Earth?
* Local: Chicken breast stuffed w/ broccoli and cheese over rice.
* State: Filet mignon at Wildfire in Schaumburg, Illinois.
* National: Haven’t had any particularly thrilling fare away from home.
* International: Ditto. In fact, I’ve only been to London and I found their food to be quite tasteless.
9. Free will or destiny?
Both. It’s rather incomprehensible, but I feel like there are forces in the universe that influence our decisions, but ultimately we choose our path in life.
10. What would you sing at karaoke?
I wouldn’t, and that’s a good thing, for YOU.
11. Sweater or Sweatshirt?
I can never seem to find a sweatshirt that isn’t way too big on me, so sweater.
12. Paris, NYC, Tokyo, or Rio de Janeiro?
None of them really thrill me to be honest.
13. What do you wear to bed usually?
Sweatpants and a tank top, or shorts and a tanktop.
14. If you dyed your hair, what color would you dye it?
I do dye it, usually auburn or strawberry blonde.
15. If you went back to school, what would you study?
I have no idea, the idea of school makes me want to vomit.
16. Gum or mints?
Gum.
17. Recurring nightmares?
I haven’t had it in a long time, but I used to have this one where the highway we were driving on would suddenly turn start going up and down with loops, like a big rollercoster, and then it would abruptly end, so you’d have to shoot out over this body of water and try to make it to the other side. We never did, and the car would hit the water and start to sink and then I’d wake up.
18. Age and location of first kiss?
Fifteen by the back door of my house.
19. Describe your favorite pair of shoes:
I find most shoes uncomfortable to some degree, but I guess I’d pick gym shoes for comfort or my black low chunky heels for looks.
20. What movie/TV character do you feel like you relate to most?
J.D. on Scrubs because I’m a huge goof but I always mean well.
21. First CD purchase:
No Jacket Required by Phil Collins. Then something by The Cure to balance out my geekiness.
22. First concert:
The Cure in 1996.
23. Do you like camping?
Hell no! I need modern amenities, particularly a functioning flushable toilet, nearby at all times.
24. If you were doomed to be mauled to death by an animal, what animal would you prefer that to be?
Gee, does it really matter? It’s going to hurt like hell regardless.
25. Do you/would you own a gun?
We don’t owe one and part of me thinks it would be nice to have one for protection but the other part of me is terrified by guns. That being said, if I learned how to handle and fire one, I’d probably be fine with having one in the house, although with kids around it has to be locked up safely which takes away the convenience of needing it should someone break in.
26. What religion would you like to know more about:
None. I’m not interested.
27. Favourite food as a kid:
Ham sandwich with Hellman’s mayonaise.
28. How many languages do you speak?
One, English. I know a little Spanish and Polish but not enough to make conversation.
29. If you were a natural disaster, would you be a tornado, hurricane, or earthquake?
Tornado.
30. If you could make one state in the U.S. just go away, which state would that be?
That’s a hard one since even one of the states I hate, Indiana, has a few redeeming qualities. I guess from what I’ve seen of it, Oklahoma can take a flying leap. Sorry Oklahomans.
31. How many prescriptions do you take?
One for my acid reflux.
32. Lake or ocean?
Ocean all the way, except when there’s a hurricane.
33. What is the worst lie you’ve ever told to get out of work, (and don’t say you’ve never lied to get out of work, because that, my friend, is a lie and you know it)?
No way am I incriminating myself here. :)
34. Do you carry a backpack, a satchel or “man bag”, tote bag, brief case, or a backpack on wheels?
I carry a purse and a tote to work daily.
35. Have you ever been arrested/cited for anything other than traffic violations?
Nope. Never even got a speeding ticket (knock on wood).
36. Would you ever move for/with a significant other?
Of course.
37. What was the weirdest thing you had to dissect for biology?
A crawfish in college. It was still alive at the time, but had been anesthetized in 7-Up first.
38. Would you ever consider spending some time at a nudist colony?
No way. Ever notice that the people who are most comfortable being naked are typically the last ones who should be taking their clothes off in public? Yuck.
39. Best thing you can cook?
Hmmm …. I don’t know. Joe says everything. LOL!
40. If you were going to donate 1000 dollars to a charity, what would that be?
Cancer research.